It’s time to pack the bags, firm up the rental-car reservations and dust off the scouting reports. College basketball’s July recruiting period is set to begin.

It’s time to pack the bags, firm up the rental-car reservations and dust off the scouting reports. College basketball’s July recruiting period is set to begin.

Coaches at Division I programs hit the road Wednesday for the first of three five-day evaluation periods covering the next three weekends. It’s the most intense recruiting dance of the year as high schoolers play in an unending stream of camps, all-star showcases and AAU tournaments in front of recruiters.

Coaching staffs at all four D-I men’s programs in Rhode Island will be crisscrossing the country. The itineraries begin with national events in Philadelphia and Las Vegas, as well as New England camps at Brandeis University and in the Springfield, Mass., area.

“It’s crazy with all the travel we have to do, but guys in our business, we get excited about this time of the year,” said URI coach Dan Hurley. “We have a lot of guys we know of already and will want to see more of, but there are also a lot of players who come onto your radar in July for sure.”

URI, Providence and Brown already have verbal commitments from players in the class of 2015 and will be looking for more. Brown’s haul includes Barrington’s Corey Daugherty. Here are a few July recruiting insights to follow.

At Providence, the Friars have a verbal commitment from Indiana shooter Ryan Fazekas, a 6-foot-7 sniper who was inconsistent on the spring AAU circuit (with Mean Streets) while averaging 7.6 points on 37-percent shooting. The Friars will spend the next three weeks looking for more perimeter help and would also love to add an impact big forward as well.

The player Ed Cooley and his staff have spent the most time on over the last two years for this class is Donovan Mitchell, a 6-3 guard from New York City who plays at Brewster (N.H.) Academy. Mitchell has been on PC’s campus with his family numerous times, and the fact that he has yet to commit poses major questions for the coaching staff. Boston College has emerged as a serious contender and Mitchell has also expressed interest in Georgia Tech, but he also could be waiting for even more scholarship offers over the next few weeks.

An interesting connection has helped in the recruitment of one big man, 6-9 Minnesotan Alex Illikainen. He’s one of the top prospects in the Midwest and the Friars own a major in since his sister, Molly, spent three years at PC playing for the women’s hockey team before transferring to St. Cloud State. Cooley has also developed a relationship with two top-25 prospects from his two-week stay coaching the national Under-19 team. The Friar staff will now spend time working New Jersey guard Isaiah Briscoe (who likes Arizona, Louisville, Rutgers) and Illinois guard Jalen Brunson (Illinois, Kansas, Michigan, Villanova).

Cooley said the Friars remain in the market for a late backcourt addition who would enroll in time for September. However, the early returns on incoming freshman Kyron Cartwright are good and Cooley could use shooting forwards Tyler Harris, LaDontae Henton and Jalen Lindsey at guard at times. Kris Dunn is in excellent shape but it is unclear if he’ll suit up on the Friars’ trip to Italy in August as he completes his recovery from shoulder surgery.

Hurley and the Rams are attacking July with a different look this year due to the addition of David Cox to the staff. A Washington, D.C., native, Cox spent the last four seasons at Rutgers but recruited for Georgetown and also spent time at Pittsburgh. Like Hurley, Cox came up working at a high-school power and on the AAU/summer circuit.

“Dave has high-level experience, leadership skills and organizational skills, and that’s already paying dividends,” Hurley said. “I saw his background to be sort of like my path and he’s really added a lot to our program.”

Cox replaces Preston Murphy, and while the ex-Ram star had strong connections to his home state of Michigan, Cox is piped into the Metro D.C. area. He’s already opened that area of the country for Rhody as last week the Rams secured a commitment from Leroy Butts, a 6-7 forward who had committed to Rutgers and Cox last winter. Butts is from Clinton, Md., and will play his final prep season at Elev8 Sports Institute in Delray Beach, Fla.

The Rams have two seniors in Gilvydas Biruta and T.J. Buchanan, but it appears point guard Mike Powell could be a part of the program in 2014-15 and graduate next spring. That means Hurley and his staff are likely looking for a scoring big man and athletic wing this month.

“We just want to keep adding to our talent base,” Hurley said, “and if we can get a third strong class in a row, I think the program will really be in strong shape going forward.”

Hurley said the addition of junior college rebounder Earl Watson and what incoming guards Jared Terrell and Jarvis Garrett have shown in summer workouts make it easier to identify what the Rams need going forward.

“The freshmen are really prepared physically and own much more confidence than, say, when E.C. (Matthews) and Hassan (Martin) came in as 17-year-olds,” Hurley said. “That maturity is important and we just have a much more competitive situation that is driving us. I like where we are right now.”